The Strange New World within the Bible - Book Report/Review Example

Critically Reflecting "The Strange New World within the Bible" "The Strange New World within the Bible", an essay which appears in the book The Word of God and The Word of Man written by Karl Barth, begins with numerous questions relating to Bible and its efficacy. The second paragraph of the essay takes the readers into a world where they are with Abraham in Haran, as well as they are able to listen to a call from the Lord, who orders them to leave the land and makes a promise to them of a great nation. Karl implores the readers about not just Abraham's acceptance, but also his trust in the Lord. The initial part of the sermon guides the reader from the world in which he is in presently, towards the world of the sermon. In the next paragraph, Karl calls the readers to be with Moses, who is living for forty years in a harsh environment, in which he is asked by the Lord to go to his native country and free his people of Egypt from the cruel government that is lead by the Pharaoh. In doing this, he is assured that the Lord will be with him. Karl again issues a plea to the readers about acceptance of Moses and his trust in the Lord. Just as he has described from the beginning, Karl continues to recall certain Biblical events in the hopes of getting people's attention. In every instance, he elaborates how the seers and prophets of the Lord accept what is said to said to them without any further query. Saintly men believe in the mercy of the Lord. According to Karl, while we read about all that happened, just as we would with other stories, we do not feel ourselves emotionally attached to the background information of these incidents, which is always there to be experienced and understood. After detailing all of the incidents in a manner which is quite effective, Karl moves towards the public's disapproval of the Lord when something may be lacking in their life, but when people are in circumstances which they have no way to adapt, as well as when they are in a situation from which they are unable to get themselves out, they in turn call the Lord for his help and support, as he is the one who is there for not just consoling, but is also the one who is there for forgiveness as well as mercy and who has unlimited power to heal every curse that is put on people due to their own individual misdeeds. In return, the non-believers who seek to increase the misery and suffering of people, are punished by the Lord as he is always aware of those who not only do good, but those who wish to do bad. In recalling the past events that are told in Bible, Karl continues towards Jesus, who with the assistance of the Lord, came to end all misery felt by people. With the help of the Lord, he was given the power to heal the injured, as well as the ability to put life in the dead, to cure the blind, lame or deaf and the chance to cleanse leprosy from within a body. At that point people were diverted and wayward after Moses, but Jesus was there to help them escape their sufferings and wretchedness. After giving background information related to Jesus and his followers, as well as the earlier prophets, Karl then discusses the missionaries, who felt that it was their responsibility to preach to all creatures what they have learned from Bible. They took the message of the Bible to all doors, preaching about the gospel and what it said about how it was going to change people's lives around the world. Karl cites a quotation of Paul, in which it talks of how for those people who live their lives following the teachings of Jesus Christ will be the strongest servants of God as they will be seen as obedient to him, as well as his prophet. Moreover, they will be like Christ in the way they live their life, as they will have adopted his pattern for living. After quoting Paul, Karl quotes John, again detailing the glory and mercy of God, which is associated with the sending of Christ to the earth. Karl's way of deliverance is not only quite impressive, but also effective in the manner in which the readers are enchanted by the words that he uses for the explanation of religious norms. He criticizes the people who not only ask what the Bible contains within in. According to Karl, the Bible contains all that is needed to lead a righteous life. It promotes positive attitudes such as love, obedience and also self-discovery. Karl also explains to the readers that whatever they have read from Abraham to Christ is enough for their awareness regarding Christianity. They are able to read about who has suffered, but also see who is blessed. By keeping the Bible in consideration, people are able to make their own way towards the blessings of God. According to Karl, in reading the Bible, we can seek answers to all of our questions that we have in our minds, as it is a complete book that holds within it the capability to give any answer to any question asked by any individual. It contains the historical contents, as well the future recommendations towards the betterment and improvement of individuals. Throughout his writing, Karl continuously refers to the question, "What is within Bible" that is asked by many of the people who are not quite well aware of the teachings of the Bible. Scriptural reading is a must to gain an insight to its teachings, as well as its preaching. Afterwards, you will find the answers to any questions, including the question "What does the Bible have within it" Karl implores people to ask questions, informing them that by asking these questions, any misunderstandings are cleared. So, whoever can ask as many questions as they like for self-discovery, as well as the discovery of religion. He goes on further to highlight the title which he has selected for the essay, "Within the Bible; there is a strange new world, the world of God". According to Karl, we can only truly absorb the Bible fully, if we have the capability to come beyond ourselves. Karl also emphasizes that the Bible gives everyone what he/she deserves. As a result, every person gets what they are meant to from reading the Bible. Some people are able to achieve every positive aspect from Bible due to their own positive nature. What about the sinners Should they be reprimanded for their sins, or should they also have the chance for forgiveness According to my perception, this argument is not fully impressive being that the Bible is also meant to bring people from doing badly to performing good acts. Seeing as it is a book which was written to aid those people who were sinful and diverted from religion and its practices, it can give the people what they deserve. Those who sin can all benefit from the Bible. Karl states that the Bible has the capacity to bring us out of ourselves; it is like a river that makes us go its way. Karl says that only when we have faith, will we allow ourselves to be in that river. The Bible allows us to reach to the highest position possible. Karl then informs people that the Bible is not only a historical document which contains information about the people who were blessed, as well as those who were cursed, but also talks about prophets and also past events that came before, as well as after Christianity. It is true that the Bible contains all historical events and incidents that have occurred in the historical eras, but so much more can be found within its pages. Those historical events depict the lessons that we should learn as a result of them. As Karl tells it, people should not only consult the Bible for mere reading of historical events, but should also try to identify the reasons that were present when the prophets made certain choices based on the will of God. Every incident that exists in the Bible has a reason behind it. We must have an understanding for the new and strange world that exists within the Bible. In the Bible we possess things such as morality, as well as faith in God and love. It can be described as a moral document based on the fact that people can get help to improve their daily doings from reading the scripture within the Bible as well as helping humankind achieve awareness of the sufferings that were caused because of disobedience and wrong doings. Karl identifies certain examples from the Bible in which, according to him, the prophets performed activities that are different in comparison to our perceptions of good and evil, but whatever they had done, they had done so according to the will of God. Karl also emphasizes that the Bible provides not as much information about other issues in life such as marriage, business, and civilization. The act of war does not have a clear view in the Bible. According to Karl, sometimes it appears that the Bible gives no instruction in certain regards. Karl writes that we do not have to think that Bible offers us nothing and that we receive no further information from it, but we have to assert that the Bible has a lot to tell us. Why would we make a suggestion that the Bible is offering us something in terms of true religion It should be considered by Christians to be the true religion. Or the question as to why there is a misunderstanding, or doubt in terms of the consideration as to whether Christianity is the true religion. We should not make a supposition; we should rely on this as a fact. Karl has said that we have to maintain that Christianity is the true religion, which in my opinion, is fully correct. Karl also thinks that with the help of Bible, we will know about living our lives based on following the norms that were set forward by God. It is the 'treasury of truth' as is reported by Karl. A problem which is highlighted by Karl is that a number of Christianity-based religions exist in the current world, with two of the most prominent being Protestantism and Catholicism, as well as the many others which are related to different communities. Karl says that while people are divided because of different Christianities, all of them do follow the Bible. Everyone has his/her own reasons for following a type of Christianity and rejecting the other, but we should not judge each other on the basis of our own religious ideologies and we should consider them true according to the path that is set forth for us by the faith in God that comes with the Christian religion. According to Karl, what exists in Bible is the word of God because it is a scriptural teaching from God himself through his disciples. Ultimately, the Bible is a holy revelation. If we were to read the scriptures with intuitiveness and insight, it would be noticed that the writings serve to inform us about correct ways of worship, as well as the way according to which we should lead our lives to achieve the love and blessings of God. Karl emphasizes that we should not try to sort out things which are wrong according to different perceptions of different religious people. We should, in turn, read everything to explore it as it is given and not make assumptions. The Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, reveals the word of God and neither of the books is identified solely to any Christian group, but to God himself. This point is very effective as it helps in uniting people from differing belief systems of Christianity. It is only because of God's revelation that we are in a new light after previously being in darkness, thus unable to separate ourselves and our behaviours from evil as a means of performing acts of good. He has given us an insight; a sense of understanding by reading the word in the Bible. It has within it all that God says, not what man interprets God to have said. Karl goes on to ask questions pertaining to God and his existence, stating that the Bible itself gives answers to all the asked questions. God himself is the founder, as well as the redeemer, the saviour and the Creator. He has all the power within him to create, as well as to destruct. He is the Lord and is the comforter of all. God created everything that exists. The Bible is his creation and contains what he wants us to realize. If we read Bible with insight, we will get answers to all our questions that we have in our minds relating to God and religion. In the end, we should believe in God. He was everywhere, is everywhere presently and will always remain everywhere until the end of time. He is most Omnipotent. Those who ask the question about who is God are among the non-believers. He will create a new world for us when he gives us life again after death. This new world exists in the Bible. In order to see it, you just have to explore it and know that everything written in it is true and clear. You just have to read the Bible to get awareness; you must read it with all of your heart and soul, so that you will be able to go beyond yourself and into the new world of Bible. Quite temptingly, Karl gives a sermon about the Bible and religion. He is of the opinion that people have to realize that all of their questions relating to God, as well as religion, can be answered with the help of insightful biblical reading. Karl has justified his claims at various points, but at some locations, according to my perception, he has lapsed because the criteria for his judgements seem to be less than perfect. As a whole, this is a good essay that seems to be supporting in terms of analyzing both Christianity and the Bible. He has highlighted many Christianities, but has also said that all of them are comprised of the same belief in God, the Bible and of Jesus Christ. Critical Reflection of the Author's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans Karl Barth starts the preface of The Epistle to the Romans, with the acknowledgement that when he started the book, he lacked experience and whatever he wrote appears to not be his writing, but someone else's. His first preface will surely be quite different if he tries to write it again. Karl says that the English writer Emil Brunner seems to be allied with him on the basis of his theological writings. In his preface, he requests that his readers go through his writings themselves without seeing his works, but with the help of other works that are performed for his writings. According to Karl, all of the chapters should be read as contacted to one another because readers could face problems with misunderstanding the text if read separately, or as a whole entity. He has properly made connections with certain chapters and has written the chapter numbers that should be read in collaboration with one another in his preface to The Epistle to the Romans. He asks the readers to read the whole text as it is connected, because while reading separately, there is a chance of misunderstanding, leading to incorrect interpretations. Karl identifies his sole aim to be the interpretation of Scripture. When he is accused of interpreting the Scripture spiritually, he identifies it as an abuse as further informs about exegesis and says that, without adding to the present information, no one can explain a written text. He has to add something from his own side, so that the readers have no problem with interpretation. While his claim here appears to be wrong, as the Bible is a Scripture and the Scriptures are written by God, no human has the right to add anything to the Scripture as it contains the absolute truth that cannot be rejected. Scriptures need interpretation, but they also need not to be changed, transformed, or destructed by additions or deletions. They must exist as they are revealed. Whatever is there should be explained in the words the interpreter wants, but he cannot add to it. Explanation means not adding, but just simplification in interpreting the existing words in simple vocabulary. Karl asks the readers that to criticize the text of The Epistle to the Romans according to how it is not written through other's interpretations. He claims that the reason for the writing of his book is a means of directing the readers to the Holy path that goes towards God and his scripture. In his first preface, Karl details the scriptural interpretation that he likes, the way of "venerable doctrine of Inspiration", because it has a wider scope and containment. Karl also says that he has put forward all of his energies into investigating the eternal spirit. He identifies the human beings with Paul, saying that we face the same problems which Paul himself faced. Karl also says that interpretation of history differs according to different ages. Karl asserts that those who were interested in the path towards righteousness followed Paul, thus associating themselves with Paul. He reports that the book, The Epistle to the Romans, is a kind of exploration seeing as Paul appears new to Karl. Further acknowledging that his work is at the preliminary stage, as such it has the eligibility of gaining further information and improvement. The third preface written for the third edition is a summary of the second edition, but also the prefaces contain some similar features which are described for the correct understanding of the readers. Karl identifies that due to modernism, everything is changing and transforming. The second edition of the book was handled with a friendly attitude by various readers. Karl details Bultmann's views about his book in the second edition. He says that Bultmann was unable to understand certain aspects due to the lack of structure. He writes that he has tried to explore and investigate the spirit of Christ. He says that he had been asked by Bultmann to write based on following Paul and his preaching. He responds by saying that Bultmann is unable to understand that he can not change the facts about Paul and his writings. According to Karl, there are two opposites for facts; there is evidence and the actual events. There are some things that are hidden and to find and explore those things, we have to read the Scriptures that will inform us about God and his blessings. He takes away life with the promise that he will give an eternal life. Karl emphasizes that God wants us to adopt the right way of life, so that we can gain the blessings that have been promised for us. In the preface to the fourth edition, Karl realizes that his earlier work needs revisions, as it is not a perfect work in terms of interpretations. He says that due to some wrongly written things, there was some outrageousness that was related to the written interpretations. He considers it fair that he is allowed to make revisions in the already written work. He claims that he has not changed the words and sayings of Thomas Aquinas, but has made them in his own words due to which they are thought to be complicated and incomprehensible. The fifth edition of The Epistle to the Romans contains a preface which is a sort of complaint, or seems to be a complaint in the beginning, as it states that Karl feels like he is being punished whenever he speaks about an issue in a negative sense. There can be negativities in the present system, which can be corrected through honest and healthy criticisms, which are not to make fun, but are there for improvements and betterments. He claims that whatever he has written is successful in gaining attention of the Church and the theologians. He praises himself by saying that he has written like a good author after researching on the topic of the epistle as it relates to Romans. Karl claims that his book is successful among the masses on the basis of its written structure. In his preface, he prays to be a hound of God who directs all people towards righteousness and truth. He also says that all of the people that exist in this world are not without the Master, that being God, who is always there, so they should not be disobedient to Him as He is the Lord. In his preface to Sixth edition, he realizes that he has been dragged away from his work due to so long of a gap in time. While writing the sixth preface, he claims that he has not made a copied version of the fifth edition, but has written the book with differences. The preface to the sixth edition is not of a detailed kind and just reports that in case of any mistakes that are made in earlier versions, there are no more in the latest version. Karl also reports that after publication of each of his books, as an author, his work and that which is written has improved. References Barth, Karl. (1933).The Strange New World within the Bible, The Word of God and the Word of Man (Pilgrim Press: Westphalia), 28-50. Barth, Karl. (1950). The Author's Preface, The Epistle to the Romans (Oxford University Press: London).v-xvi, 1-25 Read More